‘Soviet-Minded Men Rule Everything in Russia’: Journalist Ekaterina Kotrikadze

On Nov. 26, The Moscow Times volition big Women Against the Kremlin, a groundbreaking gathering of women leaders lasting up against warfare and authoritarianism. 

Among the event’s cardinal speakers is Ekaterina Kotrikadze, a Georgian-Russian writer and presenter astatine TV Rain, Russia’s lone autarkic broadcaster that present airs from exile successful Amsterdam. 

Kotrikadze, 40, has been a pioneer of the #MeToo question successful Russia, arsenic good arsenic a vocal advocator for sex equality and antiauthoritarian values. 

The Moscow Times sat down with Kotrikadze up of the lawsuit to sermon the authorities of women’s rights successful Russia, however Russian propaganda weaponizes women, and whether Russian journalism is inactive a male-dominated industry. 

This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

The Moscow Times: In 2018, you became one of the archetypal pistillate journalists to talk up astir harassment by State Duma Deputy Leonid Slutsky, who has since go caput of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) — a genuinely unprecedented and bold enactment for Russia astatine the time. Do you see it a benignant of #MeToo moment? Has the concern for women successful Russia changed since then?

Ekaterina Kotrikadze: Of course, it was a #MeToo moment. I was the archetypal to talk out, but I privation to stress that I was extracurricular of Russia erstwhile I did it. I don’t cognize what I would person done if I were successful Russia, truthful I person immense respect for the women who followed my illustration and spoke retired astir harassment by a authorities authoritative portion inactive successful the country. 

I retrieve that aft I did that, I was amazed by the tremendous magnitude of hatred directed astatine me. At immoderate point, I decided to halt opening societal media altogether due to the fact that determination were truthful galore antagonistic reactions. 

Most critics were outraged that I stayed soundless for 7 years… But radical who cognize and recognize what intersexual harassment is — successful this case, we are talking astir a young pistillate writer astatine the commencement of her vocation and an all-powerful authorities authoritative — besides recognize however often victims are forced to enactment soundless due to the fact that they consciousness frightened oregon guilty. 

Aside from the hate, I besides received plentifulness of words of gratitude, emotion and empathy from people. I received galore letters and emails from women who realized that they don’t person to tolerate [harassment] and tin talk up [following my example].  

I was successful the U.S. erstwhile I spoke retired [about this incident] and I understood precisely however and what to accidental astir it, acknowledgment to the #MeToo movement. 

Of course, opinions astir that question vary. And possibly determination person been immoderate distortions, and immoderate radical person been wrongfully accused. But for the astir part, it was a question of immensely brave women who recovered the courageousness to talk up. I covered it and work astir it extensively — that’s erstwhile I realized that I, too, tin bash it. 

Workplace harassment has ever been precise prevalent successful Russia. The standard of it was catastrophic. In today’s Russia, it is simply a nightmare.

What tin you accidental astir Russian journalism successful that sense? Is it a male-dominated industry? How hard is it for a pistillate to ascent the vocation ladder oregon to simply bash her job?  

This is simply a analyzable question. 

If you crook connected the TV successful Russia close present you volition spot plentifulness of pistillate anchors and celebrities — it has ever been this way. 

At the aforesaid time, erstwhile I started my archetypal internship successful Ostankino [television workplace successful Moscow] astatine 18, the archetypal happening I realized was that to go a unit analogous I would person to slumber with the producer. It was truthful painfully obvious. I felt truthful wounded due to the fact that I thought that I could beryllium myself with my bully journalistic work. But it simply wasn’t enough. So I spent the internship wandering the hallways of Ostankino [TV tower] due to the fact that nary 1 wanted to enactment with a young intern similar maine — this is simply a precise communal scenario. 

Female journalists successful Russia person to enactment three, 4 oregon 10 times harder, and exert overmuch much idiosyncratic resources than men to marque it successful the industry. 

The concern successful Russian journalism reflects that successful the remainder of the country. We person a woman, [Federation Council Speaker] Valentina Matviyenko, lasting 3rd successful the concatenation of command. Maria Zakharova is the look of Russia’s Foreign Ministry and [RT Chief Editor] Margarita Simonyan is the country’s main propagandist. 

But women [in these roles] are conscionable a facade, 1 that conceals what is happening with women’s rights successful Russia. Their beingness doesn’t mean that women successful Russia are escaped and empowered astatine all. 

There is inactive nary instrumentality criminalizing unit against women successful Russia. It hasn’t been adopted adjacent aft the agelong and hard combat that its pistillate authors person enactment up [in the State Duma] — what other is this, if not a objection of the male-dominated nine that Russia is? 

Men regularisation everything successful Russia. The worst portion is that astir of these men are Soviet-minded radical of the past. They deliberation that if a pistillate is beautiful, past she deserves to beryllium harassed.  

How would you picture the authorities of women’s rights successful Russia today? 

I would telephone it borderline catastrophic. 

The wide cognition towards women became adjacent much dismissive amid the full-scale warfare with Ukraine. 

Have you seen the pamphlets issued to women whose husbands came backmost from the frontlines? They counsel women to ne'er attack their husbands from down truthful arsenic not to frighten them, and ne'er to rise their voices. They besides counsel women to simply endure immoderate imaginable bursts of choler from their husbands. No 1 adjacent thinks astir advising women connected however to prevention themselves from abuse, oregon offering nonrecreational intelligence assistance to these men with PTSD.  

How does Russian propaganda alteration unit against women? 

Their strategy is simple, but precise effective. 

They chose the sermon of “traditional household values.” What bash they mean by that? They assertion that “traditional household values” are astir Orthodoxy, respecting one’s family, respecting the aged and taking attraction of children. The propaganda besides contrasts the “traditional values” of Russia with “immoral” Europe.

But erstwhile you excavation a small deeper, you statesman to spot that Russian propaganda’s “traditional” household is simply a household wherever a hubby rules everything and wherever the sole intent of a pistillate is childbirth.  

Even earlier this, galore Russian women were sidelined, and deprived of each opportunities. 

Millions of Russian women ne'er became celebrated writers, engineers, astronauts oregon mathematicians due to the fact that nine and the authorities clipped their wings.  

What is it similar to bash journalism — particularly TV journalism — successful exile? What has changed successful your day-to-day enactment since you near Russia?

TV Rain ne'er tried to change, nor does it program to, into media of a antithetic kind, oregon with a antithetic audience. We stay a Russian media. I deliberation this is what makes TV Rain’s enactment truthful valuable. 

Before we near [Russia successful March 2022]...I had an on-air interrogation with investigative writer Christo Grozev, who told maine that we shouldn't beryllium disquieted [about moving successful exile] successful the modern satellite wherever the net exists and wherever determination are plentifulness of technologies that alteration journalists to enactment remotely. I didn’t truly wage attraction to that remark backmost then, but erstwhile astir of america really near Russia, we saw with our ain eyes that doing our enactment was inactive possible. 

But then, we encountered different problem: TV Rain was labeled an ‘undesirable’ organization, which landed america successful what seemed similar a deadlock, due to the fact that the Russian authorities present considers immoderate practice with america a transgression offense. 

All successful all, covering Russia from overseas would not person been arsenic hard if not for the information that Russian authorities are perpetually reasoning astir TV Rain. They travel up with caller [restrictive] initiatives [against the channel] astir each month. 

Given the circumstances, we are perpetually successful a authorities of battle. We person managed to past frankincense far, but it is very difficult.

Russian absorption person Ilya Yashin said successful a caller interview with The Moscow Times that ‘it is intolerable to alteration Russia from the outside.’ In your opinion, tin Russians surviving abroad, and their allies, someway assistance Russian women successful the combat for their rights?

I deliberation informing the radical is important — I americium answering arsenic a journalist, I don’t cognize what my reply would beryllium if I were a politician. But arsenic a journalist, I cognize for definite what our ngo astatine TV Rain is. 

All pistillate members of my editorial squad are feminists. This is amazing. They animate me. I deliberation we, successful turn, tin animate different radical by example.  

We person 20 cardinal viewers and…we purpose to springiness women successful Russia the accidental to respire freely — adjacent for a infinitesimal — portion they are watching our broadcasts. We privation to fto them cognize that they tin unrecorded a antithetic beingness and that they person each the aforesaid rights arsenic men. 

I deliberation accusation is immensely powerful, and immensely important, particularly for radical who deliberation that everything is implicit and don’t spot a mode out. But determination is simply a mode out. When the infinitesimal comes, they volition cognize the close happening to do.   

And we [the journalists] volition pass them when, and if, their rights are being violated. We volition archer them to find a mode out. Because adjacent successful Putin’s Russia 1 tin find a mode to permission their abuser — aft that, the possibilities are endless. 

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